Shopkeepers and customers from the streetside shops all gathered under the willow trees by the road.
A few people who knew the inside story pointed at the criminals being paraded by the constables, boasting about what little they knew.
"Do you all know what crimes these people being paraded have committed?" a portly man in a Landlord Hat asked the surrounding onlookers, feigning an air of mystery.
"So what did they do? To be paraded through the streets by the constables like this," someone asked, playing along.
"If you know, then stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us!" an impatient onlooker urged the man in the Landlord Hat.
Lin Li, wearing his bamboo hat, stood in the crowd. He had become just another curious onlooker, gazing at the portly man who seemed to know all the details.
"AHEM..." The man in the Landlord Hat coughed twice to clear his throat, then began to regale the surrounding crowd.
